Discussion

Le Peep coming to Manalapan

Last night I drove by the former "Java Moon" restaurant on Rt. 9 South, and noticed the sign up saying "Le Peep" coming soon. I never eat at either chain, but I do remember other people commenting on the one coming in Shrewsbury.

Well, that took longer than I thought it would, i.e., Java Moon closing. That's one of those cursed spaces. Since that strip was built many years ago, a series of restaurants have opened and closed. The first was Strawberry Fields. Others included a kosher Mediterranean and a fish place. It will be interesting to see if Le Peep can break the curse.

Hey seal! I have never been to a Le Peep! Although I love the name! Can you recommend anything on the menu to give a try? Sorry..I am not a breakfast person, no eggs out EVER! (I make them myself...I am another snob that way, too!! ha ha!)

Any input for lunch would be great! My mother and I go to The Turning Point alot, but I am SO tired of it! Thanks for any help!!!

They do have a website with a menu posted, but it is slightly different at each place I have been to. So far I have enjoyed a burger, an "Apple Pie Pancake", and a special of the day fish sandwich from the non-egg items. But I have to say that I really enjoy their skillets with eggs, potatoes, and especially the one with sausage and white sausage gravy as well.

Ate at Le Peep in Red Bank today as a preview to its opening in Manalapan. I think they will do very well in Manalapan. The key is the price! Java Moon was too pricey. Lunch at Java Moon ran about $17/$18 when you could go across the road to Mom's for $10. Granted the food at Java Moon was a step up from Mom's, but the bottom line is that people are not spending $17 for lunch all the time. I know people that go to Mom's 2-3 times a week for lunch. Le Peep's prices are much more in line with what people want to pay for Route 9- everything is in the $8.00 range, then beverage brings you to about $10 plus tip. As long as they are competitive in price, they will certainly give Mom's, the diners and Turning Point a run for the money. I can't return a full verdict yet on the food since I feel that I would have to try a few more dishes to be conclusive. I had a buffalo chicken wrap today which was very tasty but after awhile the sauce was getting to me. Instead of a true buffalo hot sauce, it was kind of a very tangy honey mustard sauce which got a bit overwhelming by the end of the wrap. The fries were nice and crispy and the two little sides that come with the sandwich were very good...one was a cole slaw and the other one was sort of a salsa/[pico de gallo. They were interesting and definitely added to the presentation. The one drawback we experienced was the service. It took twenty five minutes to get two wraps and fries to the table, which was ridiculous since it was about 1:30 PM and the restaurant was far from full. If the kitchen cant handle it when they are empty, then when they are full it will be totally unacceptable. They have got to be able to handle the volume if they expect to survive in Manalapan. I know from seeing the days that people are lined up to get seated at Mom's. If you cant turn the tables, you're dead. It will be interesting to see how they fare. They are supposed to open by the end of February. These are the same owners as the Le Peep in Red Bank. It almost seems to me that it may be the same franchise company that developed Java Moon. Maybe they got smart and realized that they had to get those prices down. Anyone know the scoop on the owners?

I don't believe that the Le Peep and Java Moon franchises are related in any way. The former Java Moon franchise owner partners in Red Bank (its actually Shrewsbury) shut down the Java Moon and reopened as Le Peep.

I am thrilled to read that Java Moon closed. I had a bad experience there several years ago and refused to ever step foot in there again. My mother had ordered a salad with shrimp. The salad cost $11.95 - on the high side but ok. When we got the bill she was charged $14.00 surcharge for the 3 shrimp. We knew there would be an extra charge for the shrimp - but $14 - and the server nor the menu mentioned that fact. I'm glad they got their just reward. By the way I love LePeep, so hopefully it will be as successful as the Edison location.

Please don't get your hopes up. We went to Le Peep in Shrewsbury on Rt 35 this morning and had perhaps the worst breakfast in our lives. The food here was absolutely horrible from start to finish. For your sake I hope these places are under different ownership/management.

Wife and I went to Le Peep this morning.. arrived at around 8:30 or so.. only a few tables were occupied.

I was going to order Salmon Benedict and Nutella crepes, but ended up going with a special called the "Apple Pie Pancake".. the waitress said it was like an apple pie, but baked into a pancake. She raved about it. I think it was $8.99.

Mmmm.. she was right...it was excellent.. didn't even need syrup (though I used it anyway). Also had hot cocoa.. the real stuff.. not "add a packet to a mug of hot water." It was $2.99 but came with unlimited refills. Wife had cheese omelette and a side of cheese grits.. loved both.

I had a coupon which knocked off an entree.. leftovers for both of us, we got dinner leftovers out of it.

Nice touches: A carafe of ice water placed on each table, Tabasco sauce on the table, syrup arrived warm.

Attentive, friendly service. We'll be back... I still want to try the Benedict, but if that Apple Pancake shows up again, I'm ordering it.

Nice review. I recenty went to the one in Shrewsbury and had a turkey pannini. My husband had a roast beef pannini and I thought both were very good. His was better, as usual. I thought they had a nice menu. Haven't been to the one by us in Manalapan, but it is a nice alternative for lunch than the ridicoulous amount of Italian American places.